Tom Forkner

Thomas Francis Forkner (June 14, 1918 – April 26, 2017) was an American businessman, lawyer, and notable senior golfer.

Biography Born in Hawkinsville, Georgia, on June 14, 1918, Tom Forkner was the fifth of seven children of Ben and Bessie Forkner; his siblings include Louise, Lawrence, Catherine, Ben, John, and William. Forkner graduated Young Harris Junior College before getting a law degree from the Woodrow Wilson College of Law. The son of a real estate agent, he practiced law until called to serve in World War II as an intelligence officer for the Manhattan Project. After his return from the war, he took over his father's real estate firm, working in Avondale Estates, Georgia. Inspired by the emergence of fast food chains like McDonald's, Rogers, who was a regional manager of the Toddle House chain of diners in Memphis, Tennessee, proposed that he and Forkner go into business together for a quick-service, sit-down restaurant. still worked for the company occasionally, including on major holidays. Forkner died on April 27, 2017, at the age of 98, only one month after the death of Joe Rogers, his business partner.